Kim Kardashian Posts Steamy Marilyn Monroe Photo, Turns out It Is Fake

Kim Kardashian fans slammed her for photoshopping her latest photo — one featuring a topless Marilyn Monroe.

Kardashian posted what looks to be a rare nude image of Monroe on Instagram Thursday, writing, “Good morning,” to her 106 million followers.

But the shot in question is not a raw, honest photograph, The Blast reports. Instead, it is an art piece by Jeffrey Yarber, who has created thousands of celebrity fantasy works by digitally crafting them over the years.

“Fakes is a genre I, and about four other fellows, originated,” Yarber said. “My artworks are marketed around the world, and are offered in just about every medium there is.”

The artist said his prints, which combine the head of a famous figure with the body of another person, are often mistaken for original photographs by spectators and respected galleries alike. Rather than correct them, though, Yarber insists his pieces are “virtually real, depicting the actual subjects in actual settings, without flaw.”

Yarber may be the mastermind behind the altered image, but fans criticized Kardashian for being the artist — or at least the distributor — behind the false photo.

“Why are you photoshopping someone else’s pic?” one follower wrote. Another added, “This is a FAKE pic of Marilyn. As fake as Kim K… It amazes me what she does for attention.”

“Please…Take down this infamously and recently photoshopped pic. It is disrespectful to the memory of Miss Monroe. We all know it is not her body, but younger girls may not. Respect,” a user commented.

The photo has been debunked as a fake in other instances, so Kardashian may have been aware of its photoshopped status. Still, it earned a spot on her aesthetically-focused Instagram feed.

Some fans worried that Kardashian knew the image was fake and still posted the photo, essentially spreading a false nude image of the Hollywood icon.

“You wouldn’t want someone posting a pic like that of you without permission,” a follower wrote.

But Kardashian, who is no stranger to a racy photoshoot, may not agree with the user’s modest comment.

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians cast member has posed nude on several occasions, including her infamous full frontal bathroom selfie and a glitter-laden naked photoshoot to promote her KKW Beauty line.

“I never understand why people get so bothered by what other people choose to do with their lives. I don’t do drugs, I hardly drink, I’ve never committed a crime — and yet I’m a bad role model for being proud of my body?” Kardashian wrote on her website, adding her frustration that people continually focus on her 15-year-old sex tape.

“I lived through the embarrassment and fear, and decided to say who cares, do better, move on. I shouldn’t have to constantly be on the defense, listing off my accomplishments just to prove that I am more than something that happened 13 years ago,” she wrote, adding, “Let’s move on, already. I have.”